


Why'd You Leave?

by skeleton_girl



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Takes place after dr coomer goes outside the map, coomer has a bad time but gordon n bubby are there to help him feel better :), listen im just evil n i like making sad coomr content >:), mostly centers around the three of them but the tommy and benry are there for the dream sequence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25435906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skeleton_girl/pseuds/skeleton_girl
Summary: Dr. Coomer wakes up in an empty void.
Relationships: Benrey & Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby & Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Dr. Coomer & Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta & Dr. Coomer
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70





	Why'd You Leave?

**Author's Note:**

> Was gonna post this on Sad Coomer Saturday but I'm impatient so I'm posting it now. Come get ur sad grandpa content

When Coomer first opened his eyes, he thought it was dark, but as he glanced around he realized he could see himself as though he was standing in a well lit room. He looked down at his hands, turning them over. They looked normal. He tugged at his clothes, ran a hand through his hair. It _felt_ real enough. But so had so many things in his life.

He looked up, hoping there would be some sort of light source, but even the space above him was an empty void. He wasn't sure what he was standing on, if he was even standing on anything. He took a few steps forward to test his surroundings, and was relieved when he didn't just fall into oblivion like a cartoon character. Okay, so there was some sort of physics at work here... he could work with this. He just needed to keep a clear head, and he was sure there'd be a logical explanation for this.

"Doc- Doctor Coomer?"

Tommy's voice startled him out of his thoughts. He looked around, but he still only saw a vacant void surrounding him.

"Tommy? Can you hear me?" he called out. His voice echoed off invisible walls somewhere in the distance.

"Where are you?" Coomer spun around, trying to locate the source of the sound, but it didn't seem to come from any particular direction.

"I... I'm not sure where I am, but, ah, just keep talking! I'll try to find you!"

"I'm- I'm scared Dr. Coomer... I don't like this place... p- please hurry," Tommy's voice was getting farther away as he spoke, so Coomer picked a direction and ran, hoping it was the right way to go.

"Tommy, stay where you are!" he called. "And keep talking!" There was a very distant, muffled sob.

"Pl- please..." His voice was almost inaudible now, so Dr. Coomer spun on his heel and ran in the opposite direction.

"Tommy, it'll be all right! Just... tell me what you see, anything that could help me find you." If he could just keep Tommy talking, maybe he could find his way to him. There was nothing but silence.

"...Tommy?" He had to stop running - his heart was pounding, and he needed to catch his breath. "Tommy!"

"Dr. Coomer?" Suddenly Gordon was the one speaking now, almost as though he was right next to him. "Is that you?"

Coomer looked over his shoulder, but there was still just an empty void staring back at him. It somehow felt smaller, even though there was nothing to indicate that it was. He faced forward again, taking a breath in an attempt to steady his nerves.

"Yes, Gordon, it's me! Where are you?"

"I... I don't know. I can't see anything. I'm- I'm kind of freakin out man." His voice cracked a bit at the end of the sentence.

"That's all right," Coomer said, trying to sound reassuring. "Maybe there's something else around? Do you hear anything, smell anything?"

"N-no, there's just. There's nothing here! Where is everyone? Why can't I see you?"

"Gordon, I... I know this is frightening, but just try to stay calm." Dr. Coomer picked another direction to walk in, albeit less certain this time. Gordon and Tommy were both scared, so he had to try to hold himself together. For their sakes.

"Now, can y-" he began, but was cut off by Gordon's voice.

"Dr. Coomer? Are you still there?"

"Yes, Gordon, I'm here!" Could Gordon not hear him? That didn't make sense, he could still hear Gordon just fine. Still, there were a lot of things about this place that weren't normal. It was silent again for a second as Dr. Coomer waited for a response.

"Dr. Coomer?" His voice was shaking. Coomer was going to speak up again, but Gordon didn't stop. "Oh god, guys? Tommy? ...Bubby? This isn't funny! Wh... what's going on? Benry I SWEAR if this is all YOUR FUCKING-"

And suddenly, it was quiet again. There was no echo to indicate that Gordon's shouting had been there, just complete and utter silence. The darkness seemed to be growing smaller, but that didn't make any sense.

"Gordon?" Oh god, even his own voice sounded too quiet. He tried choosing a direction and walking again, but it felt like the darkness was always following him, inching closer every second. He walked for a few minutes before the sound of panicked breathing suddenly rang out in the space, making him jump. It was a sound he recognized, although he'd rarely heard it.

"Bubby?"

"Oh my god, Harold?!" Bubby gasped at the end of the sentence, almost like he was drowning. Not good.

"I, I, I really hope that- that's you," he continued. Coomer desperately wished he could see him, could wrap his arms around him and make him believe everything was alright, but there was still nothing but an inky void around him.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Bubby!"

"Oh thank god," Bubby said. He sounded... slightly reassured, but it was clear he was still stressed. "Do, do you have any idea what's going on right now? Cause I sure as hell don't."

"Well..." Coomer wanted to say that yes, he absolutely knew what was going on and that everything was under control, but he would be lying. "To be honest, I'm not completely sure... I did hear the others earlier, but it seems like we can only talk for a short time."

"Guess the same goes for us," Bubby replied. "Harold?"

"Yes?"

"Does. Does it feel like this space is getting smaller to you? Or is that just me?" That edge of panic returned to his voice as he spoke.

"It's not just you," Coomer said. "I've felt that too, and although I can't speak for the others I'd imagine they're going through something similar." Bubby drew in a shaky breath.

"...Okay. Well I, I guess it's good to know we're all in the same shitty boat. God, it's really stifling in here thou-"

And then Bubby was gone too. Cut off from him just as quickly as the others. The darkness seemed to close around him faster, and while Coomer had never experienced claustrophobia, it was really making him anxious. Knowing Bubby was claustrophobic only made him more worried - he hoped he was handling things alright wherever he was.

At first he just stood there for a while, figuring that he shouldn't waste energy walking around with no destination. It was when the darkness felt like it was closing in behind him that he decided to start walking again, hoping he could buy himself time to figure out what was going on. He called out the names of his friends into the darkness, but it seemed like his voice was being smothered before it could travel far. There was no echo, no sound other than his voice and his breathing. Even his quickening footsteps didn't make a sound. It felt like he was moving for hours before a familiar monotone voice startled him to a stop.

"yo, what's goin on man," Benry's voice echoed around what now felt like a small space.

"Benry," Coomer said after catching his breath. When had he started running? "I was starting to think I wouldn't hear from anyone again."

"naw im still here man. whyd you leave anyway?"

"...Leave? What do you mean?" Did Benry know something the others didn't? Coomer didn't remember leaving anyone, just opening his eyes and standing... wherever he was.

"you left bro. and we were like 'ohhh yooooo wheres dr coomer' and i thought maybe you were playing a prank or something but like... everyone else disappeared too. ive just been chillin here waiting for you guys to come back."

So he had just... disappeared? Why didn't he remember this? And from what little he could tell from their conversations, the others didn't seem to remember either.

"I'm... I'm sorry for leaving, Benry," Coomer began uncertainly.

"yeah," Benry said before he could finish his thought. "that was uh... pretty not cool. feetman and bubby were soooo pissed. i think they thought i did something but youre a cool so i know i didnt."

"Oh. Well... thank you, Benry, but-"

"you can come back though right?"

"I... what do you mean?" As much as Coomer liked Benry, he was really hard to understand sometimes, especially when he wouldn't give him a chance to think.

"like come back?" Benry said, which didn't really clarify anything, but the change in his voice made Coomer nervous. He sounded... uncertain? Scared? That wouldn't make sense, Benry wasn't scared of anything.

"this was funny cause feetman got really angry but now its not. i think you should come back." Even though Benry's voice hadn't changed a whole lot, the deviation from his usual monotone was enough to frighten Coomer. If Benry sounded even slightly scared, then something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"I can give it a try," Coomer said slowly, expecting to be interrupted again, but Benry seemed to finally be listening. "Where did you see me leave? Was it through a door?"

"no? you just left? i dont get how you dont get this."

Coomer sighed. None of this made any sense. In the brief silence he became suddenly aware of how quickly the darkness was closing in around him.

"Benry, I need you to concentrate for me, just for a moment," Coomer said, hoping they still had some time to talk. "What happened when I left?"

"i told you already man," Benry whined, "you left and feetman and bubby got mad... they were lookin all around for you so i just started following them but it got really dark and i couldnt see them. so i thought you were doing a joke on us. but youre not mean so i dont know why-"

Fuck.

"Benry?" Coomer called, but he knew it was pointless. Benry had been ripped away the same as the others, and now Coomer was trapped, all alone, in the dark. A darkness that was all around him now, closing him in, not letting him move. He tried taking a few steps forward, but when he did it felt was like there was static in his head. He collapsed onto the ground, the darkness pressing at him from all sides, and hugged his knees to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut. At least that was a darkness he could control. He felt like he could barely breathe. Were the others going through this right now? The thought of his friends having to suffer all of this as well finally made his composure break. He sobbed into his knees, his knuckles turned white from gripping the fabric of his clothes. The darkness seemed to press in even more because of this, wrapping around his limbs and clawing its way into his throat and he couldn't breathe, god he couldn't _breathe_ , and-

__________

The first thing he felt was a hand gripping his arm. Everything felt hazy, and his heart was pounding so loudly that he could barely hear. He tried to breathe but it felt like his chest was being constricted. So he focused on the hand that was holding onto him, keeping him grounded. He couldn't get his vision to focus, but he knew he wasn't in darkness any more. Someone was talking to him in a deep voice, and he tried to focus on what they were saying. He could make out a few colors: dark gray - the walls, maybe? White lights. And a lot of orange right in front of him.

Oh.

"-the, okay? You're doing good. You're safe, nothing's gonna hurt you."

The more he spoke, the more the world around him came into view. They were in a room in Black Mesa. The walls were gray, and white fluorescent lights were shining above them. It wasn't dark. His friends weren't crying, or shouting, or begging him for help. He sucked in a desperate breath, and he noticed the world getting blurry around him again.

"Gordon?" He blinked. He distantly felt a tear run down his cheek. Oh, that's why everything was blurry.

"Yeah," Gordon said. His grip on Coomer's arm loosened slightly. "Yeah, it's-"

Coomer threw his arms around him, pressing his face into the cold metal of the HEV suit and holding on like his life depended on it. Gordon was quick to hug him back, rubbing circles on his back and quietly reassuring him that he was safe, that he wasn't going anywhere. Someone grumbled, shuffling sounds followed as they moved from their sleeping position on the floor, before Coomer heard an achingly familiar voice.

"Oh my god, Harold."

And now there were two more hands holding him - one on his shoulder, and another that took his hand and held it tightly.

"What happened?" Bubby asked. He gave Coomer's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"He was having a nightmare, I think," Gordon responded in a hushed voice. "Seemed pretty bad."

"No shit," Bubby said, but without his usual venom, and then even softer, he said, "Harold, can you take a deep breath for me?"

He tried his best, but the result sounded more like a hiccup than a breath. Thankfully, Gordon and Bubby were patient.

"That was better, can you do it again?" Bubby asked.

And so the two of them slowly calmed Coomer down, Gordon continuing to rub circles on his back while Bubby helped him manage his breathing. Eventually his sobs slowed to a stop, and he just felt _exhausted_. He leaned away, releasing his hold on Gordon to wipe his eyes. Bubby kept a hand on his back to steady him.

"I... I'm sorry," he began, but Bubby spoke before he could get any further.

"Don't say that," he said, "you have nothing to be sorry for, alright?"

"Yeah," Gordon agreed. "We're just glad you're... well maybe not _okay_ , but, better."

Coomer took a shaky breath.

"Well... in- in that case, thank you," he said. "That was a particularly bad one."

"Do uh..." Gordon rubbed his arm self-consciously. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Coomer's gaze darkened for a moment before he decided, "No... no, I'd rather not. It's much more pleasant being here." He gave the two of them as much as a smile as he could muster, before rubbing his eyes again.

"I know I just woke up, but I am _exhausted_ ," he said. Bubby wrapped an arm over his shoulders.

"Sounds like you need a nap," he said, giving him a small smile.

"That sounds nice," Coomer agreed.

As he lead Coomer back to bed, Bubby locked eyes with Gordon and gave him a look that he knew was the closest he'd get to a "thank you". Gordon gave him a nod in response, and rolled back over into his resting position on the floor.

It took a while for Dr. Coomer to fall asleep again, despite his exhaustion. He lay there with his eyes closed, until Bubby had fallen asleep (still holding his hand), and then Gordon. The sound of Gordon's snores and Bubby's quiet muttering were what finally allowed him to rest - protecting him from the isolating silence of his dream - and the rest of his night was peaceful.

**Author's Note:**

> Me??? Posting multiple fics for the same fandom?? It's more likely than you'd think. I also have some more fic drafts for these guys so I'm probably gonna post more soon!


End file.
